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This latest work is populated with characters seeking new beginnings, trying to break free from addictions or harmful partnerships, only to find hope curdling into aggression. The author repeatedly invokes the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into intentionally weary through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He aimed to start over" and "They opted for a clean break" appear throughout the text. And yet, she seems to be making her own fresh start, because this appears a new kind of book – fact-based, truly literary. However it proves to be laden with the familiar conflicts and approaches as earlier books.

From Chance Novelist to Renowned Book

Kraus started out as an creative who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 groundbreaking book I Love Dick, which was composed of letters to an unreceptive lover, converting confessional female writing from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the following three engaging and challenging novels missed the impact and rawness that the letter form brought to the tone of I Love Dick. Compounding this was her position as a nonconformist creator who had become a large-scale low-rent landlord, so there was considerable focus on housing investments. It follows that she presently aims to try out new kinds of material, directing her gaze to the experiences of others, at a period in which she claims that current political era makes confessional writing redundant.

Three Generations, Shared Inescapable History

The Four Spent the Day Together is divided into three sections, covering several time periods – all unable to escape their histories. We encounter the tale of Emma and Jasper, versions of Kraus's parents, moving from the New York borough to the Connecticut countryside. Additionally the account of Kraus, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the late recognition of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse a man named Paul. Finally the narrative of a homicide of one troubled youth by another in a community largely deserted by progressive politics only 80 miles from Catt's rural residence in rural Minnesota.

For this reader attracted to polished prose of the sort Kraus herself often avoids, I was seduced by the narrative style of the opening part.

As someone who reads drawn to honed writing of the variety that Kraus herself often disregards, I was captivated by the novelistic voice of the first section. It possesses a novel degree of detail that allows space for trivial aspects, like the pail that the youthful Catt frees from the ice at the beginning of the narrative, aided by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he answers, "the nuanced interpretations of terms rolling around in their mouths like sweet treats". Kraus writes Emma's narrative with inquiry and familiarity. "Emma experienced a dreamlike sensation – not hers, exactly."

Frustration and Disruption

I was bound to become frustrated when I expected this different style could last out the book. Kraus says here that she is annoyed by the enjoyment those who appreciate polished prose have taken from I Love Dick; she's devoted to fragmentation, to the unpolished style she has in common with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the void and recurrence of her previous novels comes back in the middle section. Catt Greene is attempting to do up 36 run-down apartments in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while shuttling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul control his drinking. She experiences powerlessness as Paul transitions between poorly supported positions as an substance abuse counselor in a society propelled by the rage and anxiety that underpins a political win. There are several pages about the protagonist facing cancellation on a platform, her professional designation altered from "novelist" to "landlord" on a reference site. Kraus still seems to care a little too much about this. On one occasion she says that she's investigating the murder so that before leaving Minnesota, "she may grasp something about an America that her Twitter detractors would fail to comprehend, would overlook entirely".

The Killing Story

So then we come to the homicide in question – and the titular day spent by the murdered individual with the perpetrator and his friends. Kraus utilizes great source material, and knows hour by hour what transpired when Brandon came to see Brittney after encountering her on a platform where she marketed explicit images. He anticipated intimacy but appears congenially to have passed the day alongside her friends, wandering about fixing his automobile and covering the cost of food and substances, before being shot by her romantic interest Micah – a young, mentally ill man who has repeatedly received inpatient care for aggressive outbursts.

Fascination and Incompletion

Catt gets obsessed by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards responsible documentation and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. However, I would have preferred her to explore more thoroughly her individual preoccupations here. The standout figure is Brittney herself, who becomes vivid partly through Catt seeing herself in her – another bright, bullied girl spiraling out of control in a troubled, forgotten town. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in detention, but she doesn't dramatise these conversations. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the point that Kraus's narration ends almost mid-par